Markets end lower; ECB meet outcome eagerly awaited

Markets ended the day lower ahead of the outcome of an ECB meet, which is slated to be known later today. The Sensex ended the day lower by 33 points, while the Nifty closed the day lower by 12 points.

Amongst the Nifty stocks that lost ground today were State Bank of India which shed more than 1%. The bank had cut auto and home loan rates on Wednesday. Tata Power, Sterlite and Cairn India were the other majors losers amongst the CNX Nifty stocks.

HeroMotor Corp, which lost heavy ground on Wednesday, ended marginally lower today, following poor sales numbers. Among the Nifty stocks that rallied sharply today was NTPC, which gained more than 3%, while SAIL gained more than 1%.

Asian markets ended mildly lower today, with Hong Kong's Hang Sang, Singapore's Strait Times and Korea's Seoul Composite losing ground. However, the Nikkei ended the day in the positive terrain.

Indian and global markets are likely to take cues from the outcome of the ECB meet, a press conference which will be addressed by ECB President Mario Draghi at 7 PM IST. For the last few days, hopes have been built across markets by comments from Mario Draghi, who last week said that all measures would be taken to save the euro.

Indian markets are likely to react tomorrow in trading, as the ECB press conference would be held after trading hours today.